Making Gingerbread Houses

Each year before Christmas, there is a frenzy of activities in kitchens and halls around this state. Tables are set up in large halls, with many lollies, cellophane, bags of icing and gingerbread. For the uninitiated in Gingerbread House making, it is all a bit overwhelming.Candice Clayton has demystified, and simplified the process, providing every possible assistance anyone could need to create a gingerbread house.

This is a true step by step guide, covering every aspect that the beginner or professional might need. The book begins with recipes for the gingerbread walls and roof of the house. There is a huge variety of gingerbread recipes listed. You may choose “Light, crispy, and subtle gingerbread for your base, or soft and fluffy, rich and dark”. There is also Tropicana for the adventurous, or Ginger Apple – Cinnamon, for the more experienced cook. Once you have chosen which base you wish to make, the recipe for it is given with careful details and tips. For those who have become a little carried away with adding juice, there are suggestions on how to rectify the problem.

Following these very careful directions is a table showing various types of sugar, the colour, taste, texture, how it bakes, and if it is suitable for house construction. This is followed by more hints and tips after you have baked the structure. Candice suggests what can be done if your recipe is not as golden as you wished, how to save time when separating eggs, and catering for fussy eaters.

The next pages look at techniques for rolling and cutting your shapes, again with tips to cover all emergencies. We learn about surfaces, food colouring, construction and oven temperatures, along with many other details such as Roman blinds for the windows, we see cake lace, and read about how to use on lay silicon molds.

The next segment deals with the houses themselves. There are choices of a button house, aChurch, a Beach house, or a beautiful bird house, to name a few. Each house has a list of ingredients and tools you will need to begin. At no stage will you have to stop and look for a piece of equipment as everything is listed.

Once you have gathered all ingredients and tools, you are given the method. It is set out in bullet points, making for ease of use. The directions explain where to begin and how to construct the gingerbread for the house you have chosen. Next the details cover things such as flowers, branches, and birds. There are many choices of houses to make and even a caravan. The finished product is shown, with suggestions for decorations.

To complete the package, all the houses shown have templates to copy for exact measurements. This is a well-organized book for the novice or professional. No need to cover the house in a swathe of lollies to hide mistakes, every detail has been covered, and presented in a clear manner, supported by many photographs.